Seymour’s play must equal ability to lead

Richard Seymour was by all accounts the dominant figure during the passing camp he helped organize this week.

He urged his teammates with an e-mail talking about all the hard work it would take for the Raiders to be winners this year. In lieu of a coach, Seymour spoke to the team as the authoritative figure in the absence of Hue Jackson or the coaching staff. His camp, with help from Competitive Edge Sports in the Atlanta area, appeared to match or exceed anything done by any other team during the lockout.

Seymour has been the big man in the Raiders’ locker room since he arrived by trade from the New England Patriots. Coaches respect him, young players look up to him. He has a championship pedigree and an aura to match.

When it comes to presence and professionalism off the field, the Raiders could hardly ask for more.

On the field, however the Raiders will need more than they’ve gotten in the 29 games Seymour has been a Raider.

Given his age (he’ll be 32 in October) and the amount of tread on the tires from 11 seasons as a defensive lineman, the Raiders wisely committed to only two years on Seymour’s contract extension. The fact that he accepted it demonstrates Seymour understands he’s nearing the end of the line.

What the Raiders need is what they got from Rod Woodson _ at least one last glorious season or two before heading off into retirement and then a possible induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The voting for the HOF is always trick but Seymour’s three Super Bowl rings, six Pro Bowls and reputation could serve him well. Finishing by helping lead the Raiders back into the post season would add to his legacy.

The question is whether Seymour is up to it. There have been times when Seymour has given the Raiders their most dominant defensive line play since the prime of Howie Long, a player similar in terms of strength and versatility.

But there have also been stretches where Seymour has blended in with a defense that has had way too many games of mediocrity or worse.

The season-opener in 2009 against San Diego was Seymour at his best, blowing up offensive linemen and blocking schemes, registering two sacks and being a factor on almost every play. Later in the season, it was the same thing in a win over Philadelphia. He had two sacks against Donovan McNabb that day _ and those four sacks represented his entire season total.

Sacks are only a part of his game, but the Raiders were weak against the run all season despite the ripple effect Seymour’s presence should bring.

Last season, moved inside to the three technique, Seymour had the best stretch of play by a defensive lineman since the Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995, particularly during a three-game win streak that put Oakland at 5-4 going into its bye week. At the time I wrote Seymour was a legitimate defensive player of the year candidate.

And then . . .

As much as I enjoyed Seymour’s decking of Ben Roethlisberger from the perspective of a father of a teenaged daughter, it happened at a time when the Raiders were getting pushed around in a 35-3 loss to the Steelers. In his last five games, Seymour never had more than three tackles in a game and exactly one sack. He missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.

When players voted for the winner of the Eric Turner award as the defensive MVP, the winner wasn’t Seymour, but fellow defensive tackle Tommy Kelly.

Much of Kelly’s success can probably be attributed to the man he calls “Big Rich.” Seymour helped prod Kelly into getting in better shape and by example demonstrated what it was like to be a pro. It would be hard to overstate his effect on young linemen such as Matt Shaughnessy and Lamarr Houston.

But make no mistake, the Raiders didn’t extend Seymour two years and $28.5 million in guaranteed money to be a coach on the field. They need those last two years to be Seymour at his dominant best as often as possible as they attempt to eliminate the periods of defensive inconsistency which have plagued them since 2003.

Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

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198.SnB Production Says:
May 30th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Nope, none of this losing is funny Armond. Not a bit of it

not sayin the losin is funny. u flippin your emotions is funny.

priesttj

Armond I said this after the draft I really think this draft would’ve been different if FA could’ve taken place before the draft. But this lockout is forcing teams to do a lot of tings they don’t want to do. I think Nnamdi would’ve been signed if there was no lockout.

As you said biulding a complete team, that takes YEARS not months it’s starting to come together it’s taken us too long to get the QB but I like this defense. I don’t carwe what anybody says I think this is a very talented defense.

priesttj

Also I do remember how pissed off this entire board was after the draft when we picked Branch and Schilens. I think we got T Scott also in that draft. people were saying we didn’t get a single player other than DMC, well 4out 5 aint half bad.

http://www.cnn.com RAIDER

priest, correction: You want to win Al Davis’s way. If Hue Jackson benches all of Davis’s scholarships, goes against Davis at every turn, criticizes Davis’s meddling to the press, and goes 16-0? You’ll turn your back and sneer. You don’t want to win. You just want Al Davis to win, his way, with his system. And NO OTHER WAY. You’d rather lose Al’s way than win anyone else’s way.

armond

priest they listen to these so called experts on tv who dont pay as much attention to the raiders as they do. willie mcginest gave us a d just cuz we took a couple wrs and some dbs. no insight as to why due to the players we picked. mayock referred to chekwa as another hws guy with a lil smirk on his face like he could do better. i stopped taking what these analysts say so seriously cuz i can do my own research. talk to ohio st fans and they say chekwa was damn good. i saw where he was 1rst team all big 10 and was in the running for some top defensive awards. we rely on these “experts” to give us sound info on guys we dont see but instead they give us their ignorant and biased opinions based on who drafts them. notice how everything the patriot do is great? even teddy bruschi has been critical of them passing on some top pass rushers by trading down 2 much.

Dan Land

How can you talk to ANYBODY about bias feelings?? You are the worst offender of this on earth! Every year its the same song and dance with you…every pick made by the Raiders is a future HOFer…every guy taken in the late rounds you claim to know about and have a “good feeling” about….LOL…hypocrisy

priesttj

Armond this is something I’m very passionate about, ut’s what started m ecalling radio stations 30 years ago. Talking heads are just there to get a paycheck and most of the things they say are half researched and some of it is being told to them as they speak (expecially on radio) I use to know a producer for KNBR and he told those guys a lot of what they said.

Anyway It’s impossible for a national outlet to know everything there is about local teams. They rely on the local beat writers for most of their info. but it gets stale. Critiging drafts and things of taht sort is soo freakin subjective it broders on irrelevance. Because the best draftniks just simoly cannot do all the neccesary research that scouting staffs can do and tailor to each system. So they have to say something so they say what’s POPULAR!!

Sometimes you’ll have a guy who really does have good contacts and can give solid info but they are so far and few between you cannot who actually has the right info. Now look at Mitchell he’s everything they said he wasn’t. They are at a distinct disadvantage because most of them just have piecemeal info.

The local guys tend to be somewhat bias and then you have some who peand everyday with that team who really know what they’re talking about a lot of the time. The rest just parrot what everyone else said.

http://www.cnn.com RAIDER

Armond, those “so called experts” on t.v. are right far more often than you and priest.

Dan Land

Mike Mitchell is not a good player. He has done nothing to justify being taken so early in the draft. That is fact. Un debateable. Youll never answer this cuz your a complete coward Priest…How is it that EVERY pick the Raiders make you claim to be the right one?? I mean really, every pick.

armond

206.Dan Land Says:
May 30th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
How can you talk to ANYBODY about bias feelings?? You are the worst offender of this on earth! Every year its the same song and dance with you…every pick made by the Raiders is a future HOFer…every guy taken in the late rounds you claim to know about and have a “good feeling” about….LOL…hypocrisy

see waht i mean? now who is this biotch?

priesttj

Armond remember on this very blog when Jerry was asked after Mr Davis fired Kiffin if Mr Davis was capable of rebiulding the Raiders without kiffin?

Jerry flat said I don’t think so… lol

jerry actually thought Mr Davis needed freakin Kiffin to tell him how to rebiuld the Raiders. This entire blog damn near bought that crap……..people were jumping off cliffs yelling and screaming that’s when they put up that stupid billboard. lol

Mr Davis never broke stride doing what he knows and “voila” this is one of the better young teams in the league because he has his own blueprint. He does things his way no matter who says what. Now he has a coach who can reallly coach to work with him and we’ll see what happens.

But I just laughed my butt off…………Jerry thinking Mr Davis needs that snot nosed punk to rebiuld his team. What a joke!!!!

armond

i mean what. well i guess mr i mean “raider” wants to jump in this. mr ive told u im not into battling with u like other posters. id rather knock u the fugg out and be done with it. ive told yo azz before to leave me alone now back off.

Al Davis is the NFL’s version of the Dos Equis guy, he’s easily the most interesting man in football. Instead of wanting you to stay thirsty, he just wants to win…baby. Davis’ image is as recognizable to professional football fans as the NFL shield itself. As the years have gone by though, his movie like appearance has changed from that of a wise guy with ties to Joe Pesci and Robert Deniro in “Casino”, to the brother of Smeagol in Lord of the Rings.

As Davis has aged, his appearance hasn’t been the only decline in his life. His beloved Raiders franchise has crumbled under the weight of his horrific decision making of the last decade. The once storied “Black Hole”, that opposing fans feared to enter in Oakland has seemed more like a vacation spot of sorts as of late. The nickname the “Black Hole” now better describes the part of his heart meant to hold the affection for his coaches. Davis goes through coaches these days like an evil crypt keeper goes through souls that have been damned to come into contact with him.

Davis helped lead the AFL and the Raiders into a prominent position back in the 1960′s. He kept them competitive and even dominant for a few decades as they merged into the NFL. By the time Jon Gruden came into the death clutch of Mr. Davis, the Raiders hadn’t been a factor for quite some time. Gruden still managed to overcome the handicap that had become of having Al as a boss and led Oakland to an AFC Championship game and an apparent Super Bowl berth, until the infamous “tuck rule” changed all of that. The next year, Davis thought the best way to reward Gruden for this and to keep his organization moving forward was to trade Gruden to Tampa Bay.

Bill Callahan, who was Gruden’s offensive coordinator replaced him in Oakland and led the Raiders to face off against Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers team in the very next Super Bowl. What looked to be a brilliant move at a first glance quickly became apparent to everyone to be a colossal mistake. The Bucs destroyed Oakland’s team, partly because Callahan was still running the same offense that Gruden helped install with the personnel that Gruden help develop.

Since Smeagol sold his treasure to Tampa Bay, he’s been searching all of middle-earth for his precious. For those of you that watched Lord of the Rings, you realize that I’m not talking about Gruden here, but instead the jewelry loving Davis. Al is looking for the ring that he holds so dear. His precious has made him callous. And when you factor that in with the diminishing mental aptitude he’s developed over the years, you can see how he’s run his franchise into the dirt. Even when he lucks out to hiring a good fit and having a great draft, he undermines it and sets the organization back, 5 more years.

When it comes to the draft, the golden rule is that a franchise quarterback trumps all else. Davis doesn’t give his head coaches the leeway to draft their own personnel. This was always known but brought more to the light when Lane Kiffin stated that he never wanted Jamarcus Russell. Since their Super Bowl appearance, the Raiders haven’t been over .500 once. When they finally made it back to 8-8 and 6-0 in their conference, Davis decided to not resign the coach that got them there.

The biggest problem here is how Davis forced his coaches to draft since the Super Bowl. Below you will find the coaches and their records the year after Davis dipped his hand into the talent pool to make the selections. I’ve also added some key notes on who the Raiders could have drafted instead in the coming picks. It’s important to note that the Raiders haven’t had a dynamic skill position player since the Super Bowl season. Instead of drafting a franchise quarterback, Davis has placed more value on the secondary, but then in large part has chosen not to resign them?
2003 – Bill Callahan (4-12)

1st Round #31- Nnamdi Asomugha – Great pick but they already had Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson, and Phillip Buchanon and didn’t have a franchise quarterback. I still wouldn’t complain about this pick, if the Raiders plan on resigning him this year.

1st Round #32 – Tyler Brayton – Osi Umenyiora was still on the board and went several picks later.

3rd Round #63 – Teyo Johnson – Jason Witten was still on the board and went a few picks later.
2004 – Norv Turner (5-11)

1st Round #2 – Robert Gallery – They obviously needed a franchise quarterback, not named Kerry Collins. Instead they drafted an offensive tackle that had to move inside to guard. Phillip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger were both still available. They also could have drafted Larry Fitzgerald.

2nd Round #45 – Jake Grove – They drafted two interior offensive lineman and could have taken Darnell Dockett with this pick and a franchise QB with their first selection. Where do you think they would have been now?
2005 – Norv Turner (4-12)

1st Round #23 – Fabian Washington – So, the Kerry Collins/Rich Gannon project didn’t work the prior year. Norv Turner had to pass on Roethlisberger / Rivers in 2004, how the hell would an organization pass on Aaron Rodgers when he slid to them? Instead Davis selected a cornerback and the Packers took Rodgers with the next pick, then the following year, the Raiders didn’t resign Charles Woodson, and he ended up with the Packers. Fast forward five years and the Packers win a Super Bowl while the Raiders look to not resign Nnamdi Asomugha. Also, 2 picks after Oakland took Fabian Washington, the Washington Redskins drafted Jason Campbell, who ironically is now the Raiders starting quarterback and should be replaced.

2nd Round #38 – Stanford Routt – Oakland wasted the 2nd overall pick the prior year on a guy who can’t play offensive tackle. This year, Michael Roos was still on the board, but yet they still went for another cornerback. Also, Frank Gore went several picks later.
2006 – Art Shell (2-14)

1st Round #7 – Michael Huff – Oakland let go of Kerry Collins and brought in Aaron Brooks instead of drafting a franchise quarterback. They once again choose secondary over quarterback. They could have drafted Jay Cutler, or could have gotten that franchise running back in Deangelo Williams after passing on Frank Gore or after not drafting Darnell Dockett, they could have taken Haloti Ngata here.

Round #38 – Thomas Howard – This wasn’t a bad pick but they could have gotten a playmaker at running back or receiver with Greg Jennings or Maurice Jones-Drew. Marcus McNeil would have been a better left tackle than Gallery, who was drafted 2nd overall 2 years prior. The Raiders also liked Vince Young in this draft. (Hint Hint – Al Davis might go after him this year.)
2007 – Lane Kiffin (4-12)

1st Round #1 – Jamarcus Russell – Surprised that Art Shell didn’t work out 12 years later, after getting fired the first time. Davis hires a 31 year old coach and after passing on several Super Bowl winning quarterbacks the last few drafts, forces him to draft the biggest bust in NFL draft history. Kiffin probably would have selected Calvin Johnson here. He also could have taken Adrian Peterson, Joe Thomas, Patrick Willis, or Darrelle Revis. Basically, anybody except Russell.

2nd Round #38 – Zach Miller – Miller is a good tight end but they could have drafted Jason Witten a few years prior and taken Lamarr Woodley here.
2008 – Kiffin / Tom Cable (5-11)

1st Round #7 – Darius Heyward-Bey – C’mon on man! They could have taken Michael Crabtree. If they would have taken Calvin Johnson in 2007, they could have taken BJ Raji, Brian Orakpo, Brian Cushing, or Clay Matthews. They also could have taken Josh Freeman here but wouldn’t because Davis loved Russell.

Round 2 #47 – Mike Mitchell – Back to the secondary. This could have been Lesean McCoy or Paul Kruger.
2010 – Tom Cable (8-8)

1st Round #8 – Rolando McClain – After the heavy backlash on the 2009 draft, Cable got to make some input on this draft. He had a great draft and had a solid choice here.

2nd Round #44 – Lamarr Houston- Cable follows it up with another great pick here. It becomes apparent, who’s in charge of this draft.
2011 – Hue Jackson…..

Smeagol shows how completely insane the pursuit of the ring has made him. He fires the first coach that’s be able to get him back to .500 and was able to convince Davis of drafting talented football players instead of track stars. Since Cable was not resigned, Al Davis decided to name the new head coach, Hue Jackson. As soon as Cable was let go and Jackson hired, we all knew that the 2011 draft would have an Al Davis stench to it. That’s exactly what happened as Cable wasn’t in the room anymore to convince Davis to take talented players, he made Jackson draft more track stars. Fitting the mold of Davis secondary picks with track speed is Demarcus Van Dyke from Miami.

Well, welcome back to the Black Hole which is known as the AFC West basement, because that’s where Smeagol feels most comfortable in his pursuit of the ring.

Better young teams in the league??? Holy mother of god you are dillusional….Un real

Dan Land

Hed rather just knock you the fugg out… LOL! What a tool bag

armond

priest i also remember thec07 saying ford would be rroy while mayock said he was a track guy. a lot of fans are very astute and know more about this team than the talking heads. several bloggers called for the zone blocking to change and it was for the best. these same experts never go back and admit they were wrong but pump their chest out when they are right. ill give mayock credit for at least owning up to ford. notice he wont touch quinn tho.

http://www.cnn.com RAIDER

Yeah, what a cyber chump. Whatever.

http://www.cnn.com RAIDER

armond Says:
May 30th, 2011 at 9:19 pm

these same experts never go back and admit they were wrong but pump their chest out when they are right.

…………….

Describes you to a “t”. Oh, except the chest bumping when you’re right. Because you’ve never been right about anything since I’ve been commenting here.

priesttj

That’s MR Armond in his 6th personality, he has about 10 of them so get ready this sucka is sick fo’real!!!

http://www.cnn.com RAIDER

priest, do you honestly think there’s only one person here who doesn’t worship Al?

504 Raider

Hey MR,

Let me see you and Dan Land post something at the exact same minute.

priesttj

Mayock never admit Quinn because that weakens his case against Russell. I’ll give him credit he called Russell dismissive attitude towards dedication to the game but he totally whiffed on Quinn.

Dan Land

Hey Priest….If Al Davis is soooo adept at building a club how is it that hes working on a losing streak never seen before in modern NFL??

Dan Land

How many winning seasons for Al Davis in the last 20 years??

priesttj

504 they post something at the same time everytime just not with the different names. He’s 3different people at once.

504 Raider

I’ll bet this Raider losing streak has a positive correlation to MR, Dan Land, and Raider all NOT getting laid.

Don’t Fret MR or Raider or Dan Land, This will be OUR year. The Raiders and MR or Dan Land, or Raider are Back Baby.

priesttj

How many times a day are you caught talking to your other personalities??? Like maybe 20?

mayock breaks things down very well no doubt. he makes the same mistakes as the other experts tho. these talk shows are a joke half the time. a lot of times they have people build a case for each side just to entertain us like they do on those political talk shows. sometimes i wonder if they even believe the things they are sayin. radio is the worst. i cant even listen to that jeff sheen after rick tittle. that new station 95.7 isnt good at all. cant stand chris townsend and those morining guys are a joke. the 4pm show was garbage. these guys are on air to entertain more than they are to have a reasonable conversation. thats why i dont listen or call in like i use to aside from tittles show.

504 Raider

I’ll answer that MR. The answer is 20. Al Davis wins every year. He makes more money than we can dream of while cats like you argue over how he spends it.

imisstimbrown

hey MR…werent you the dick that got into with me because you said AD would most certainly bring back gruden?? which is it??…..you love or hate AD??….or is it that you just cruise on here looking for a fight??…..i dont get it….

priesttj

Armond Rick Tittle is all I can take I can’t listen like I used to. It’s just total garbage. When Pete Franklin was here was the best of the best. Since then it’s just declined and declined everyone tries to be like Gary Radnich who stinks. Everything is yuck yuck yuck hahhaha who doing who and trivia. It;s sickening!!

Dan Land

LOL!! Nice answer 504….funny how none of you Al is God guys will ever admit how much of a failure he has been in the last 20 to 25 years…. HILARIOUS

Dan Land

Priest,

Last 20 years…how many??

armond

230.Dan Land Says:
May 30th, 2011 at 9:37 pm
I didnt catch your answer Priest…How nany winning seasons has Al put together in last 20 years??

about as many winning seasons as u had with a woman. thats a free one for ya on me.

priesttj

Imisstimbrown No! you do get it. That is exactly what he does come in here to fight and blast Mr Davis that sums him up perfectly.

Dan Land

Armond,

Are you retarded? I will take it easy on you if you are, but your posts lead me to think your a little slow….”about as many winning seasons as u had with a woman”…What in the hell does that even mean?? Just let me know and I will move on lil buddy.

Dan Land

None of you Davis schills have the answer??

armond

priest i had to warm up to tittle cuz i didnt know if he would be like the rest. dont agree with everything he says but hes cool. he actually believes in talking with his callers and not at them. radnich is garbage. havent heard him in a couple years now so i guess its the same stuff. dont even get me started on barbieri. everytime i heard him i thought of tattoo on fantasy island. the plane the plane!!!

LOL Ralph is a joke a run on joke! I rarely agree with Tittle he’s just too negative at times. Everything is gloom and doom. Part of the fun of sports is seeing if something you thought you’d never see. The ups and the downs and then watching a team get back up. It’s not about just winning all the time because it never happens for anyone everyone goe sthru bad times.

But I do like the fact that he will let you talk and listen, something that’s a lost art in sports talk. It’s sports smack……..no one listens!!

HD37 the dude is background noise as far as I’m concerned. I don’t read his post .

HayesDaze37

MMMM-mmmm!!!

I had a big ol’ porterhouse…medium rare…4 big ol’ spice-buttered shrimp…excellent rice smothered in grilled peppers…a number of excellent ice-cold cervezas…and a few hits o’ Patron Silver. Dessert yet to come! What a great day. AND…I’m a Raiders fan!

HayesDaze37

BHP, it (MR) and its make-believe pals are no sweat to me. I love it when it’s perturbed, though… especially if it’s because someone else actually is enjoying something!